singlehanded sailing - tips

[tugela]

After several promising weekend sails being cancelled last season due to crew failure (must find some with sturdier backs / more indulgent wives...) I am planning to go singlehanded this year.

What do those accomplished in this art recommend as essential kit / practice?

If it helps I sail a Finesse 27, somewhat sluggish but pretty wooden long keeler from a swinging mooring on the deben (Suffolk). Am planning to upgrade the autopilot to a raymarine st2000 and have twin furlers (cutter rig).

Any advice?

 

[snowleopard]

work out your mooring routine well in advance and have it all prepared. everything needs to be prepared more thoroughly as you can't hand over to the crew to do last-minute jobs.

and clip on!

 

[jimboaw]

IMHO. Single handed sailing in anything other than a dinghy should be avoided at all costs and NEVER out of sight of land. I deplore the glorification of folks who undertake mega voyages on their own. It is just imposible to maintain a proper watch system regardless of the electronic gismo's you may have on board. I had the scare of my life whilst answering a "call of nature" 5 miles off Pueto Rico. At 7AM whilst running at about 7knts in 7ft swells and autopilot engaged I could hear voices! Not the religious type but frantic yelling from somewhere "out there". One has to finish the function that I was engaged in so it was perhaps 30secs before I could get on deck. What I saw when looking astern has put me off single handing forever. Three guys out fishing in a dinghy. I could have killed them. My 40 footer would have registered a "clunk" but not much more as they floundered. NEVER AGAIN.

 

[Sailfree]

I have done some a long passages often overnight singlehanded but would not dream of doing it without autopilot and radar. If going anywhere where you may meet other boats and inevitably you will need to go below for refreshment/toilet/log/navigation/sleep you need radar. The radar need to have the ability to set up a guard zone. Otherwise you will be going out to play roulette possibly with your and others lives.

Safe sailing
Roger

 

[euroe]

"and clip on".......best of all advice. But lead the inboard end of the man rope about five feet up the mast. If you end up over the wall you'll give yourself an easier 'hauling up' attitude and avoid crushed or broken fingers on toe rails or gunnels.

 

[penultimate]

Make extra allowance for weather to avoid as far as possible excessive demands on your mental and physical well being.
I cannot hear a radar alarm but would not sail single-handed without a radar detector (which I can hear).
A simple egg timer can be used to regulate your sleeping: anything from 10 mins. to 1 hour dependent on the tactical situation.
When off shore your 27 footer is unlikely to be a major hazard to other seafarers; but I find that my major concerns are fishing vessels (because of their frequent course changes), and yachts who may not be using radar and may be on a reciprocal course.

 

[Sea Devil]

When I first started sailing I had the same problems - crew - I frequently worked weekends so mid week was a problem - I learned to single hand and since then have frequently done so including some ocean passages and many of several days/nights - I really enjoy it and love the feeling of total freedom it gives me.

As snowleopard says you have to anticipate and prepare things in advance of the problem - reef early - eat and sleep when ever possible - parking is the biggest problem - you need sufficient fenders for both sides of the boat and at least 4 warps so you can go in set up to park either side too without running around.. a mid ships cleat is helpful.

Reliable self steering is a must - best possible - helming is very very tiring and I avoid it as much as possible when I am alone on passage.

do hope you enjoy the pleasures of being self sufficient as much as I have...

 

[tillergirl]

I sail single handed most days although I admit its out from the mooring and back in the evening. TillerPilot is the most useful piece of kit for me. Check your insurance policy - mine had a ban on single handed use until I got a (free) endorsement. Doesn't allow me to sail at night though.

 

[Stingo]

Jimboaw, I couldn't disagree with you more! If I & many others weren't prepared to sail single-handed, we could never have experience the wonderful places we've been to. Nor would we have had the flexibility of being able to up-anchor as and when we pleased or stay at a place for as long or as short a time as we pleased.

The greatest thing about single-handing is that the the crew are always happy because there are no clashes of personality

Back to the original post. I don't sleep if I am closer than 40 NM to land. At night I sail with the anchor light on and not the tri-colour because it is more visible than green or red and it has a lower electrickery consumption. I know I am breaking the colregs, but when laws are impractical, I ignore them.

 

[jimi]

No single handed personality clashes ... are you sure .. I often have internal disagreements!

 

[Peppermint]

RE: Don\'t feel guilty about your watch keeping or buy lots of gadgets

Most crewed yachts are no great shakes at watchkeeping and many skippers are effectively sailing singlehanded, they've just brought an audience along.

Plan ahead. Spend time on your passage plan. Decide when the skipper needs to be "on deck", shipping lanes, tricky pilotage, closing a coast. Run through your safety briefing in your head. It just reminds you of where things are and procedures. Preprepare food and drinks. Put things you might need to hand.

Think it through. Visualize what your trying to do. When you try it make sure you've enough searoom/time if it goes wrong. Wear your lifejacket and harness all the time.

Learn as you go. Start of with some short passages and slowly move out. You'll learn about how you cope with fatigue and the strain's of coastal solo sailing. If you find a limit to your comfortable endurance. That's the longest passage you can make.

When in doubt stop the boat.

The more relaxed you are the better.

 

[Stingo]

[ QUOTE ]
... I often have internal disagreements!

[/ QUOTE ]
Even if I had crew aboard, I'd probably still be fighting & cursing myself.

 

[Mirelle]

Hello!

I've a mooring near yours - I've sent you a PM

 

[wooslehunter]

Mooring was the biggest prob I had until I worked it out. Now it's a doddle. Here's the key - the midships cleat someone mentioned above. I rig the warps as normal but also rig a line from the midships cleat to the genny winch with lots of slack. Pick a cleat on the pontoon and once alongside, throw the loop over the cleat and pull in the slack. I acts as as a spring to stop the boat and then as a retainer while you sort out the other warps. Once it's tight, you can motor against it with the tiller over to hold the bow in. I use this when crewed as well since it makes things so much easier.

The other problem is picking up my swinging mooring in a blow. Normally it's fine. It has a chain with a loop shackled in. In a blow, by the time I get forwards with the boat hook, the wind has started to blow the bows round & it's a real struggle to pick up & get the chain over the cleat. I've seen various ways to pick up from the cockpit by rigging a long line back & using that but have yet to try it. It guarentees a pick up but you then end up with a real struugle to get moored properly.

Go for it - if you like your own company it's great.

 

[owen]

clipping on

i lways clip on but would not fancy my chances of getting back on board by myself. the only way onto most boats from the water is up the ladder on the stern. to be safe you must stay on board and that means 2 clips with short scope which makes moving around difficult

 

[fireball]

Seems most people have gone down the mega route planning behind singlehanded sailing ....
From your original post I guess your after weekends away on the boat, therefore it will be - get to the destination in one day, back the next....

Tiller Pilot is essential ....
Also advisable is working out how you are going to drop and pickup your mooring, berth alongside a pontoon/another boat. And don't forget about being able to call the marina when comming in - so a handheld or method of having your fistmike and speaker in the cockpit is very handy.

On the domestic side, it is a good idea to have main meals you will need on the passage pre-prepared - soup in a flask, bread already buttered etc etc.
Also - make sure that if you can lock the heads door from the outside, you cannot accidentally get locked in.

You'll probably find that you need to do everything a little earlier than when you had crew on board - putting in reefs, dropping the sails ready to motor in to harbour etc etc.

As others have said - clip on ... although I'll bet a lot of singlehanded sailors only do this when its a bit lumpy .... the other important bit is - keep a good visual lookout - be aware of what is going on all around you - that way, you'll be able to gauge a good time to put that kettle on.... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ianwright]

I sail alone all the time, coasting, over to Holland Scotland, Ireland and like it much more than relying on a crew. Preparation is the key. Mooring lines and fenders both sides in plenty of time. My boat is often seen a mile from her mooring with fenders ready. Do not worry about being seen sailing with fenders over the side. Much better to offend a purist than scrape her topsides.
On watchkeeping. most of us can stay alert for 24+ hours. Enough to get to Holland anyway. For longer passages do your best. You'll know.
Imo singlehanding is safer than husband, wife and two toddlers. Children play up, wifes priority switches to the kids, husband is distracted by wife. That's half handing! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Try it, you'll like it.
IanW

 

[Mirelle]

Half handing

Ian is dead right. Most of my sailing is either singlehanding or half handing (wife and indeed two kids) and singlehanding is MUCH easier.

With respect to some other posters, in a long keeled cutter such as is being discussed here a tiller pilot is nice, but not essential. Mine went the way of all yottitronics some years ago and has not been replaced. The boat will look after herself with the wind anywhere ahead of the beam, and she will do so for long enough to get to the foredeck and back, or below for a squint at the chart, on any point of sailing except a dead run in a fresh breeze. One can always heave-to.

Fin keelers are a whole different thing!

The most useful singlehanding gadget I have is a plywood tray that slides under the companion hatch in the cabin and c an be pulled out into the hatch. It takes an Admiralty small craft folio, in its plastic cover, and a hand held GPS - no more dashing below to the chart table or trying to hold a chart in the cockpit.

This idea is about 100 years old and was shown me by another singlehander.

 

[Stingo]

When coming into a marina or anchorage, once the sails are down, lash the wheel or tiller over so that you are going around in a tight circle. This will give you plenty of time to get mooring lines and fenders in place. Anyone noticing that you are going around in circles you will immediately think you haven't a clue about what you're doing so will rush down to the pontoon to give you a hand because they expect the boat to be going straight. Works every time.

If you are happy with handling your boat in a tight spot, go into the marina and have a look at the layout, then go back out to an area where you can perform the circle trick. Helps with getting a helping hand because people thinks who's the twat coming in without fenders?

 

[alex_rogers]

Perhaps not as exciting for spectators as Stingo's approach, but I normally put the engine into reverse at tick-over revs and the tiller held in the center by the tiller pilot. The bows blow off down wind and you end up sitting pretty much dead in the water with the engine just counteracting the windage of the stern.